Product stewardship

2012 performance

Helping our customers succeed inspired our innovation efforts in 2012, as demand continued for smaller, more efficient, higher-performing and longer-lasting electronic solutions. We experienced growth in industrial electronics markets and continued to drive advances. We also expanded innovation centers globally and strengthened research partnerships in our quest to lead the industry.

Major achievements during the year included:

Opening our newest R&D lab in Shanghai, China's high-technology hub and home to important customers and integrated circuit design talent.

Placing greater emphasis on embedded analytics by forming a separate embedded processing team dedicated to developing automotive and surveillance applications; access control and industrial inspection systems; as well as digital signage, gaming and robotics.

Continuing to support the China Ministry of Education's 10-year memorandum of understanding, signed in 2011, by participating in its Undergraduate Education Reform Project. This initiative supports comprehensive reform of Chinese university curriculum and teaching materials, and further develops undergraduate education.

Launching MSP430™ microcontroller "pocket labs" at several universities in China. A pocket lab helps familiarize Chinese engineering students with TI technology, freeing students from traditional labs and providing them with everything they need to perform MSP430 microcontroller programming and testing on a laptop or notebook computer, at home or in their dorm room.

Completing the integration of National Semiconductor's former Analog Technology Development and Packaging Technology R&D groups into TI.

Being recognized for the fifth time in InformationWeek's annual listing of "Top 500 IT Innovators."

Results

Increased R&D investments by about $200 million (up from $1.7 billion in 2011) to primarily support new product innovation within our own business units, including the opening of new R&D centers in California and China, and further expansion of Kilby Labs.

Gave $12 million through the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) to fund university research. TI experts serve on SRC technical advisory boards to help select and review research, and provide counsel in specific research areas.

Directly sponsored $10 million worth of basic and applied research conducted by universities. TI's business units and R&D groups funded projects specific to our technology and design needs.

Announced a $2.2 million gift to support engineering education at the University of California, Berkeley. The university will use the gift to transform its traditional introductory Electronic Design Laboratory into a dynamic learning environment for undergraduate students.

Supported the Texas Analog Center of Excellence by giving $600,000 directly (in addition to what we give through the SRC). That allowed University of Texas (UT) Dallas researchers to start five projects intended to produce higher-efficiency lighting, advanced imaging technology and new generations of sensor technology.

Contributed another $150,000 (of about $750,000 pooled) to help fund a biomedical electronics program along with UT Dallas, UT Arlington, the University of North Texas Health Science Center and Texas Health Resources, which manages a group of health centers in the Dallas area.

Enabled more than 35,000 students to participate in our global student design contests, which we support by hosting and by providing various technologies. We also opened up the Texas Instruments Analog Design Contest to all accredited engineering institutions in the U.S. and Canada – beyond those with which we had an existing relationship. This increased the number of schools and students participating.

Allowed graduate students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, UT Austin, Georgia Tech and Cambridge University in England to intern at Kilby Labs to help innovate in numerous applications.

Looking ahead

In 2013, TI plans to:

Continue investing at least 12 percent of revenues in R&D that will result in breakthrough and incremental innovation to help manage energy, ensure safety and security, drive medical advances, enable cloud computing, and improve technology-based entertainment experiences.

Contribute an additional $12 million through the SRC to fund university research.

Continue to fund the TxACE along with our partners, SRC's Global Research Collaboration and the University of Texas system.

Contribute an additional $10 million to sponsor basic and applied research conducted by universities.

Continue participating in the SRC's Nanoelectronics Research Initiative, which focuses on future electronic device development.